Falling Into the Un-Known
by shadxw
Summary: Being the vessel of a beast that almost destroyed Konoha, Naruto has it hard. The villagers treat him like an outsider, as if he was the beast himself. So when Naruto falls into the dark pit we now know as depression, who will be there to lift him up to the light?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **

**THIS**** FANFICTION MAY INCLUDE SELF HARM, BULLYING, AND POSSIBLY MORE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. **

**Anything in italics will be Naruto's thoughts.**

**Happy (or sad) reading!**

* * *

_Why? Why is it that everyone detests me? I'm a burden to everyone… _thought the young boy, as he peeled back the lid of his ramen. He picked up his chopsticks, and stuck it in the ramen cup, swirling the noodles around aimlessly. With a fed up sigh, he started to eat, thoughts of the day filling his mind.

Naruto had decided to take a walk that morning. As he walked around the Hidden Leaf, he couldn't help but feel cold eyes staring at him, and sure enough, when he turned around, he saw them. Them, with their cold eyes, full of hate, fear, disgust. He had then taken off at a quick pace, returning home.

He had spent the rest of his day in his apartment, laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, and pondering why everyone hated him so much. It was unfair, the way they treated him. Finally, around 7pm, he had gotten up and taken a shower and then prepared his dinner, his every day ramen.

Which brings us to the present. Finally finishing his meal, he got up and poured himself a cup of milk and downed it all in one go. Once again moving to his bed, he laid down, hands behind his head, and stared out the window at the star-filled sky. Tomorrow, Naruto have to attend classes at the academy, and how he hated those. His fellow classmates all laughed at him, and they all snickered and talked behind his back. But he'd have to deal with it. He always had, and he always will.

_That's just how things are for me…_

Naruto turned around, closing his eyes and trying to reach for the sleep that always haunted him with nightmares about foxes and cold eyes. Soon enough, he fell into an uneasy sleep, twisting and turning under the covers until the sun rose.

* * *

**So, that's the first chapter to my new story… **

**I know its short, and i am truly very sorry, but I needed to introduce the story and let it slowly unfold. I didn't want to start at too high a climax, if you know what I mean… the involvement of other characters such as Sakura and Hinata will start in the next chapter or two. Sorry, there won't be any Sai or Yamato because this is during the academy days.**

**Anyways, I'll be updating hopefully every day or two, for it is the holidays. But in about a weeks time, school starts so ill hopefully update once or twice a week. Sorryyyyyy...  
**

**oh yeah! feel free to send me any fanfiction requests, and i'll do my best to write them! (because thats my ninja way!... is what i would've said if i was a ninja)**

**(but who said im not a ninja..?)**

**(oh, right. i said that... oops.)**

**anyways, thanks for reading this! be sure to rate and review! (and follow me, if u really wanna)**

**~Shadxw **


	2. Chapter 2

**I finally finally finished this chapter! is what i would say, but i finished this chapter in one day, so i cant say that.  
This chapter contains self-harming, so please be aware.  
hope you enjoy this new chapter, and please inform me about any typos possibly made!**

"Look... It's _him_…"

"You mean that boy?"

"Yeah. Him. He's the-"

"Shh! You know it's forbidden to talk about it!"

_They all keep secrets from me. Things only I'm not allowed to know. _

Naruto quickened his pace towards the academy, and when it came into view, he took off at a jog until he reached the door. He was already 30mins late, but he didn't really care, did he?  
Taking a deep breathe, he put on his everyday joker face, and opened the doorof his classroom, doing his signature pose and yelling, "The Hokage has arrived!"

For a minute, the class was silent, staring at the boy who claimed to be Hokage. Then all together, they burst out laughing.

"Hokage? Yeah right!"

"Man, there's just no way someone like him can be Hokage, much less, a ninja!"

"Yeah, I doubt he's gonna become a genin at all!"

"Hmph! I'll be Hokage one day, believe it!" Naruto announced to the class, who erupted in more laughter. Suddenly, feeling a hand on his back, he turned around to find Iruka-sensei, who seemed to be gritting his teeth.

"Class, quiet down! Continue doing your work!" he instructed. "Naruto, I'll speak to you outside, thank you."

Naruto followed his sensei out into the hall way, where Iruka faced naruto and sighed. "You can't keep arriving late for class and disturbing the class like that."

"Like I'm gonna listen to what you have to say," said Naruto, turning away in denial.

"Naruto, you have to try and achieve good grades. You do want to become a ninja, right?"

"Even if I do become a ninja, who's gonna be waiting for me to return home?!" yelled Naruto, tears in his eyes. "Who's going to be waiting at home for me to return with a forehead protector? Who's going to be waiting at home with a hot meal for me? Huh, sensei?! If you know so much about the shinobi world, then answer that! Who?! I can achieve as much as I want, and in the end, no one will be waiting to cheer for me!"

Shocked, Iruka puts a hand on Naruto's shaking shoulder. "Naruto, do you think this is what your parents would have wan-"

"Yeah, well, I don't have any of those, do I? I don't even know who they are!" said Naruto, hitting his sensei's hand away and running out of the academy.

"Naruto! Come back!"

"Why doesn't anyone accept me? All they do is laugh at me... Tease me... Talk behind my back," Naruto mumbled, as he picked up the kunai. He had found it at the academy some time ago, while he prowled the grounds at night, applying graffiti on the walls. At first, he thought it'd just be cool for someone who wasn't even a genin to hold a kunai, but soon, he found much better uses for it.

_No one likes me being around...  
_Slash.  
_The villagers all hate me…  
_Slash._  
Everyone would rather me anywhere but in Konoha…  
_Slash._  
Maybe some would rather me off the face of this earth._

Tears fell from his eyes, and blood from his wrists. He quickly grabbed a tea towel and dabbed at his wrist, and when beads of blood stopped appearing, he quickly rinsed the towel under warm water, effectively removing the red substance. Sniffling, he looked at the clock.

10:00am

It was still too early for him to head out to Ichiraku's. With a sigh, he dragged his feet to the bathroom, and filled the bathtub up with warm water. After waiting a while, he turned the tap off and stripped himself of his clothes. He slipped into the tub, allowing his head to slip under water. As he breathed, he watched the bubbles float up to the surface.

_Free… that's what I'd like to be. Free from this... this life…_

After a good long bath, Naruto got out of the water, and let the water drain away. He then proceeded to slip on his usual orange outfit, and locking the front door, made his way to Ichiraku's.

As he walked, he couldn't help but allow all the bad memories float up.  
A boy running away from him with fear in his eyes.  
A shopkeeper ignoring his request to buy some fruit.  
A mother telling her son, "stay away from this child. He's not someone you want to talk to."

_All these insults, yet I still have the willpower to hang around these people._

"One miso ramen please…" ordered Naruto, un-enthusiastically. He watched as Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame, prepare the meal. At last, Naruto had before him a bowl of his favourite ramen.

"Naruto, aren't you supposed to be in class? Or at the very least, in the academy?" asked Teuchi, leaning over the counter. Naruto shook his head in a simple reply and started to eat.

Having just eaten half of his meal, he was distracted as two shinobi, chunin by the looks, walked into the restaurant.

"He was pretty good, for a gen-" one of them stopped mid-sentence. "Hey, it's that kid..."

His companion stopped, and what seemed to be for the first time, noticed Naruto.

"I didn't know someone like him ate here..." the two stared at Naruto, who stared back.

"Well, let's head over to the place that sells really good dango. I don't want to eat here, where this monster eats"

_M-Monster…? "_Hey! Did you just call me a monster?" asked Naruto, before the two chunin had gone.

"Yeah, so don't talk to us, _monster_!" the shinobi replied, and headed off with his friend.

"A… monster… huh…" suddenly losing his appetite, he dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out a random amount of cash, placing it next to his bowl. He started to walk out of the restaurant, when the old man called him.

"Naruto! You paid extra!"

Ignoring the comment, he continued to walk, facing his toes, and feeling eyes look at him in distaste.

_I'm fed up with all this bullshit._

**And that's the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading this! I know it was sad, and I'm sorry about the self-harm part of it.  
Anyways, I may not update in the next day or two because I have to complete some homework given to me over the holidays (homework on holidays isn't fun) but I'll try to update ASAP.  
Remember, I'm accepting fanfic requests! And to those who have requested, they won't be up until a week or two. Sorry.  
and i do realize that at the beginning of the chapter, when Iruka is talking to Naruto, that the spacing out between each line is kinda funny... sorry about that.**

**~Shadxw**


	3. Chapter 3

"My mum told me to stay away from that boy…"

"Same here. She says he will be a bad influence on me."

"Same. My mother says he isn't safe to be around, that he's like a bomb about to go off any second."

"A bomb? What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ that he has something inside him. My mum said that if we anger him too much, he'll go berserk and the whole of the Leaf will be obliterated within a matter of minutes…!"

"Oh! I know what you mean… I've heard that he's a monster!"

"Him? A monster? He's more a moron than a mon-"

Fed up with the exchange of comments behind him, Naruto stopped in his tracks and spun around.

"I know you're talking about me!" He yelled. "I'm not deaf! I have ears!"

"So, the baka has ears, eh?" replied the taller of the two boys. He seemed to be the braver of the two, seeing as the other boy was a step or two behind his companion.

"Don't call me baka! Next time you have something to say about me, say it to my face!" retorted Naruto, outraged.

"W-Well, if you have ears, and you can hear it, there's no need to say it to your face!" stammered the short kid, who seemed to have worked up the courage to speak.

Naruto, who had been about to walk off, spun around and hit the boy in the face with a well placed punch. The boy fell to the ground, coughing up blood and grunting in pain. although Naruto didn't have much intelligence academically, he sure had a nasty punch. The fallen boy's companion, the taller kid, looked at his fallen friend, and then at Naruto, both fear and anger mixed in his eyes.

"Leave us alone! Get out of Konohagakure, you damned monster!" he spat, before helping his friend up and running away. Naruto took in a sharp btreath at the insult. _Get out of Konoha…? _Blinking back un-wanted tears, he ran as fast as he can towards the academy, the wind against his face pushing the tears back.

As he reached the academy gates, he didn't stop, but continued to run towards his classroom. Slowing down just before he reached the door of his class, he forced his breathing back to its normal pace, and opened the door.

"N-Naruto! You're quite the early bird today! What a surprise…" exclaimed Iruka-sensei. As Naruto made his way to a desk, he was aware of his teacher's eyes on the back of his head. He finally reached the back of the class, where he took a seat in the corner. Just as he sat down, people started to file in in small groups of two or three. They all took seats far away from Naruto, and those who were forced to sit near him groaned in protest. As the day started with Iruka calling the attendance roll, Naruto crossed his arms on the desk and laid his head down.

_"Get out of Konohagakure, you damned monster!"_

Those words echoed around Naruto's brain, as if his skull was wooden and reflected sound. For who knows how long, Naruto allowed the words to torment him, to pull him darker into that pit full of sadness and sorrow. There was no escape, no matter how hard he tried. The walls surrounding him might as well have been made of steel, prohibiting any light, any hope, from reaching Naruto. It was hell, what he was going through.

His train of thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder.

"Naruto, the bell went off a good minute or two ago. Everyone's left for lunch…" Naruto looked up to find his brunet teachers face hovering before him. Iruka's eyes were full of concern for his student.

"Oh… Sorry to keep you in, sensei…" mumbled Naruto, pushing his chair back with an awful sound.

"Naruto… are you ok?" asked Iruka. Naruto was honestly surprised to hear concern almost _dripping_ from Iruka's voice. He nodded, and made his way out into the corridor.

"There! That's him, onii-san!" came a familiar voice from behind Naruto. As he spun around, he recognised the boy from that morning, he one he had hit to the ground. Accompanying the boy, who now had a bruise on his cheek, was older looking guy who wore a Konoha head-protector. With a mischievous smirk, the boy said, "This is my older brother. He's a genin, pretty cool, huh?"

The genin peered down at Naruto. "hmph. Is this the kid that bashed you up?" he addressed his younger brother, who nodded.

"Bashed him up? I didn't bash him up! The idiot fell down with one punch!" Naruto protested, seeing where this was going.

"I don't need your worthless excuses!" he yelled, advancing on Naruto, who backed away quickly. Naruto's heart gave an almighty _thud_ as his back hit the wall.

_Shit. I'm cornered!_ As the genin advanced closer, cracking his knuckles, Naruto tried to duck way, only to be grabbed by his the back of his top and thrown back into the wall.

"Whoever messes with my brother, messes with me," he said menacingly, and delivered a painful punch to Naruto's stomach. The jinchuuriki felt like he was going to throw up his own organs. Unable to breathe and vision blurred, Naruto stumbled along the wall, only to receive another hit to the head, this time a kick that sent him flying three metres. He landed on the floor with a thud, coughing up handfuls of blood.

"N-No… please stop…" begged Naruto, defenceless, bleeding, and on the floor. He saw the genin smirk, and saw the genin's lips move, but Naruto couldn't hear any sound. _It must've been that kick to the head… _thought Naruto, as he received another blow, this time to the ribs. And extreme pain filled his abdomen, causing difficulty in breathing. Naruto looked up slightly, registering the sight of a small crowd, some cheering on the genin, others shaking their heads in disapproval.

With his incapability to breathe normally, Naruto's head became light form the lack of oxygen, and his eyesight wavered before him. He forced himself to his feet, hugging his ribs, and stumbled a metre or two across the hallway before collapsing back on the floor. He saw the genin throw his head back in laughter, and said something to the crowd, who also erupted in laughter. A sudden kick to the stomach caused Naruto immense pain, and he coughed up more blood, staining the school grounds with his blood. Before Naruto could even take in a breath of air, he felt several people kick him. _Has everyone… ganged up on me? _He thought, finally giving up all hopes of escape. He allowed them to kick him, hit him, and_ hurt_ him.

All this abuse, and Naruto didn't care. _Maybe I deserve it… all this pain. I've always been in pain, so maybe this is just more to add to the load…_ he thought to himself, and barely felt the blows being aimed towards him. He was slowly slipping away, ever so slowly allowing the darkness to grasp him

_"Get out of Konohagakure, you damned monster!"_

Those words echoed one last time before Naruto blacked out, laying limp on the floor as he received hit after hit.

**IM SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO UPLOAD!  
Being the idiot I am, I typed up half the fanfiction on the website but then accidently closed the tab ._. I've learnt my lesson and I will never do that again. **

**So, here's the third chapter! I hope you guys like it. The next chapter will involve sakura and the others, so I hope you look forward to it!**

**And btw, any fanfiction requests sent to me previously, I'll try to work on them asap..!**

**Bye y'all!**

**~Shadxw xx**


	4. Chapter 4

The darkness was welcoming. It enveloped him like the air around him.

As Naruto ever so slowly gained consciousness, he was made aware of the sound of a beeping machine, which seemed to be located on his left. As the feeling came back to him, starting from his toes and slowly moving up his body, until he could feel the weight and texture of the cloth that was covering him. His eyelids slowly peeled back, revealing a white ceiling. He tried to move his eyes, his vision slowly coming back to him. When he felt like he had the ability to, he tilted his head to the right, and was surprised to see outside the hospital window. He could see the academy from his window, and by the looks of it, everyone was going inside.

_Have I been unconscious? For how long…?_

He tried and tried to remember, and finally the memories floated up to the surface of his brain, like the debris of a sunken ship. _That's right… that genin and his friends hit me unconscious…_ Naruto felt anger boil up inside him, then slowly, the anger seemed to melt away, quickly replaced by self-loathing and shame. He had _allowed_ himself to become victim to the genin's punches. Either that, or he was so weak he couldn't even block a single blow. Neither of those seemed appealing to the jinchuuriki boy. Naruto lifted himself into a sitting position, and inspected his body. It seemed like the medical-ninja had done their job, for he was healed and patched up. Just as he was about to attempt to get off the bed, the door to his ward opened.

"Yes... two of the academy students informed Iruka-san…"

Naruto heard a feminine voice, which he soon discovered to belong to a medical-kunoichi, explain to someone. As the kunoichi made her way towards Naruto nervously, she was followed by the Third Hokage.

"O-Old man hokage?!" exclaimed Naruto in surprise, as the medic-nin detached any needles or tubes connected to Naruto. "what are you doing here?"

"Naruto… I've spoken to the genin who out you in such a state. He and his friends are to re-attend the academy, of course, in a different class. Those who take advantage of someone - not to mention - someone of lower rank, un-armed, and yet to become a ninja – are not worthy to become Konoha shinobi. I have spoken to the jonin in charge of them." The old man explained, making sure to keep eye contact with Naruto.

With a stubborn look, Naruto told the Third, "Look here, old man. I don't care if they've been sent back to the academy. I want to rip their throats out and shove it up their fuc-"

"Such language will _not_ be spoken in front of me!" declared Hiruzen, who shot Naruto a stern look. Naruto shut his mouth and looked away.

"Hmph. Well, if that's all you got to say to me, fine. I heard it." Naruto didn't look back towards the front until he heard the door open and close again. _I don't need to know what happened to them douches. It's not like I care, anyways, _he thought to himself, as he laid back onto the bed and glared at the ceiling. With a sigh, he rolled onto his side, ignoring the pain in his ribs, and fell into an un-easy sleep.

It had been two days since Naruto was released from the hospital. He had been told – more like,_ ordered_ – to stay home for two or three days to recover. And strangely, Naruto followed the orders. He had stayed home and eaten ramen. He had had no visitors to wish him a quick recovery, and he wasn't surprised.

At this present moment, Naruto was changing into his signature orange outfit. He needed to go and refill on his ramen storage. As he slipped his goggles onto his forehead, he walked out the door, and almost yelped, because standing at his door was the least expected person.

"S-Sakura-chan..?" Naruto, dumbfounded, stared into the pinkette's emerald orbs. The shade of green was so mesmerising, that Naruto almost didn't register the presence of the other three kids standing behind her.

"Hey… you do realise Sakura isn't the only one present, right?" came a tired voice. Snapping his eyes behind Sakura, he was even more surprised to find Shikamaru, Ino, Choji and Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru.

"W-What are you all doing here…?" he asked the small group.

"N-Naruto-kun… W-We all wanted to come and wish you a g-good recovery…" Hinata mumbled.

"A-All of you?" Naruto asked in awe.

"Wishing you a good recovery isn't all we came here for!" exclaimed Ino, smiling at the jinchuuriki boy.

"Do you want to go on a picnic with us?" asked the brown-haired Akamichi. "There's going to be lots and lots and lots of food!" Choji said, spreading his arms as wide as he can, as if to show the amount of food that will be present.

"A-A picnic…? I-I don't know guys… It's really nice of you all to invite me but…"

"But? What is it, Naruto? We didn't plan to meet up and walk all the way up to your apartment to hear you tell us that you're busy!" said an exasperated Kiba, whose best friend, Akamaru, gave an agreeing yap.

"Are… Are your parents ok with it?" asked Naruto, awkwardly. "I mean… I thought everyone hated me…"

The whole group stared at Naruto as if he was crazy.

"Of course they'll let us!"

"Doesn't matter anyway!"

"Y-Yeah! We want N-Naruto-kun to come!"

They all burst out different comment to reassure the blond. Even Akamaru, who had no ability to talk, barked.

"R-Really…? This isn't a joke or anything?" asked Naruto, as it dawned upon him that this might as well be a big prank.

Ino sighed, and placed a hand on her hip. "Look here, Naruto. We didn't come all the way up here with three baskets of food-" she, Kiba and Shikamaru all picked up a basket at their feet, "- to argue with you about this. Now, are you coming or not?" she asked, trying to soften her voice.

"Y-Yes! Yes, I'll come!" Naruto felt a smile force its way to his face, as he watched his classmates face's beam back at him.

As the group walked through Konoha to make their way towards the park, Naruto tapped Sakura on the shoulder.

"Sakura-chan… does this mean that everyone... is willing to be my friend?" he asked the pink-haired girl.

Sakura looked at Naruto, and shared with him a heart-warming smile. "Yes. Yes it does, Naruto. We are all your friends."

With those words, Naruto felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time. _Joy._

_I have friends… I finally have friends._

**_The End_**

**Well, that's it, guys! **

**I'm sorry if this story was kinda crappy… **

**I haven't been feeling well lately, so I don't know when I will upload a new story. I have an idea, and it's going to be a Naruto fanfiction, but I just don't know when I'll be uploading.**

**Anyways, thank you guys for reading, reviewing, and adding this to your list of favourites!**

**Sayonara, mina!**

** ~Shadow **


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